Tim Wigmore works on the Morning Briefing email and was called a "little slave" by the Daily Politics Show. He blogs on British politics, and also contributes to ESPNcricinfo. He tweets @timwig.

Are bad statistics being buried?

This Government has a well-earned reputation for playing loose with the facts. Michael Gove, Iain Duncan Smith and Grant Shapps – not to mention the First Lord of the Treasury – have all been publicly reprimanded for their misuse of statistics. And now it might be time to ask some more questions.

Today's FT (£) reports that data on the Youth Contract, a Lib Dem flagship programme designed to help young people into work, has yet to be published. Ministers said in January that they expected the statistics to be published in "the early part of 2013". Meanwhile, data on the release of the latest Work Programme statistics was scheduled for release on May 28. These too have been delayed, with the Department for Work and Pensions saying that statistics will be published on a quarterly basis from this month. The date when the next set of figures will be released on is now June 27. Coincidentally, this is the day after the Comprehensive Spending Review.

There could be nothing in either of these stories. Statistics are delayed all the time. The DWP have said that the Public Accounts Committee drove the change in the release date of Work Programme stats.

But – when they do finally come – the statistics for both the Youth Contract and Work Programme are expected to be very disapppointing. It is hardly unreasonable to say that the Government would sooner Labour did not have these to throw at it when George Osborne gives details of the Comprehensive Spending Review in Parliament on June 26.

After the flagrant misue of statistics in the past – from Michael Gove using UKTV Gold to David Cameron claiming he's "paying down Britain's debt" when it's increasing by 60 per cent – the Government only has itself to blame if it's getting harder to give it the benefit of the doubt.